Voznesensky Monastery
The Voznesensky Monastery (Ascension Monastery) also known as the Starodevichy Monastery (Russian: , Вознесенский монастырь), was a female monastery in the Moscow Kremlin which contained the burials of grand princesses, tsarinas, and other noble ladies from the Muscovite royal court. History It is believed that Voznesensky Monastery was founded in 1389 next to the Saviour Gates of the Kremlin by Dmitry Donskoy's widow, Eudoxia Dmitriyevna, who would take the veil there. The foundation stone for the cathedral was laid in 1407, just before her death. Eight years later, the cathedral was gutted by fire and then rebuilt in 1467 by princess Maria Yaroslavna, wife of Vasili II of Russia. Sixteen years later the convent was again damaged by fire and then restored in 1518-1519 to a design by Aloisio the New. This church was completely rebuilt in 1587-1588, when a new five-domed structure, mirroring the nearby Archangel Cathedral, was erected. It was a major monument to embody the conservative architectural approach of Boris Godunov's circle (illustrated, to the right). The monastery was also used as a residence for royal fiancees prior to the wedding. It was there that Ivan IV's widow, Maria Nagaya, greeted Marina Mnishek, who would spend there a few days before her wedding with Nagaya's purported son, False Dmitry I. In 1634, Michael I of Russia commissioned a new monastery church to be built and dedicated to his patron saint, Michael Maleinos. A belltower next to this church was constructed in the late 17th century. The Church of Michael Maleinos used to be home to a rare sculpture of St George, made by Vasili Yermolin and installed there in 1808. In 1721, the monastery was renovated on behest of Peter the Great. In 1737, it was damaged by fire and again renovated by the order of Anna Ioannovna. During the Patriotic War of 1812, the sacristy of Voznesensky Monastery, with the Icon of the Virgin Hodegetria, painted by Dionisius in 1482, was moved to Vologda. A two-storey almshouse was added in 1823. But the most important 19th-century addition was the Church of Saint Catherine, built to a fanciful Neo-Gothic design by Carlo Rossi (illustrated, to the right). By 1907, the monastery had a mother superior, 62 nuns and 45 lay sisters. Persons buried in the Voznesensky Monastery Among those buried in the cathedral vault were Sophia Vitovtovna (wife of Vasili I), Sophia Paleologue (wife of Ivan III), Elena of Moldavia (1467-1505), several wives of Ivan the Terrible, Grand Duchess Eudoxia Alexeyevna (daughter of Alexei Mikhailovich), and tsarina Maria Vladimirovna (first wife of Mikhail Feodorovich). The list of persons interred in the monastery includes: * Tsarina Evdokiya Lukyanovna (d. 1645), second wife of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich * Tsarina Maria Ilinichna (d. 1669), the first wife of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich * Tsarina Natalia (died 1694), second wife of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich * Tsarina Catherine Petrovna (d. 1626), second wife of Tsar Vasily Shuysky * Tsarina Agatha Semyonovna (d. 1681), the first wife of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich * Princess Theodora (d. 1667), daughter of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich * Tsarina Maria Feodorovna (d. 1608), the seventh wife of Ivan IV the Terrible, a nun Martha * Tsarina Martha V. (d. 1571), the third wife of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible * Tsarina Maria Temryukovna (d. 1569), second wife of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible * Tsarina Anastasia Romanova (d. 1560), the first wife of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible * Grand Duchess Sophia Fominishna Palaeologus (d. 1503), wife of Grand Prince Ivan III (the daughter of the despot Moreyskogo, niece of the last Greek emperor Constantine XII Palaeologus). * Grand Duchess Elena (d. 1538), second wife of Grand Prince Vasily III * Grand Duchess Maria B. (d. 1467), the first wife of Grand Prince Ivan III * Grand Duchess Maria Yaroslavna (d. 1484), wife of Grand Prince Vasily II the Dark, a nun Martha * Grand Duchess Sophia Vitovtovna (d. 1453), wife of Grand Prince Vasily I * Tsarina Irina F. (d. 1604), wife of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, the first autocratic queen - renounced the throne and took vows at the Novodevichy monastery under the name Alexandra* * Princess Maria Ivanovna (d. 1551), daughter of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible * Princess Theodosius F. (d. 1594), daughter of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich * Princess Anna V. (d. 1609), daughter of Tsar Vasily Shuysky * Princess Pelagia Mikhailovna (d. 1628), daughter of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich * Princess Martha M. (d. 1632), daughter of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich * Princess Sophia M. (d. 1636), daughter of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich * Princess Eudoxia Mikhailovna (d. 1637), daughter of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich * Princess Maria Ivanovna (d. 1692), daughter of Tsar Ivan V Alekseevich * Princess of Theodosius I. (d. 1691), daughter of Tsar Ivan V Alekseevich * Tsarina Maria V. (d. 1625), the first wife of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich * Princess Anna A. (d. 1659), daughter of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich * Princess Evdokia A. (d. 1669), daughter of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich * Bayou Juliana (d. 1579), the mother of Queen Anastasia Romanovna * Princess Paraskeva M. (d. 1622), second wife of Prince Ivan Ivanovich * Princess Natalia (died 1728), daughter of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich * Princess Tatiana (died 1707), daughter of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich * Princess Anna M. (d. 1692), daughter of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich in schema Anfisa * Grand Duchess Eudoxia Dmitrievna (d. 1407), wife of Grand Prince Dmitry Donskoy, a monk Euphrosyne * Princess Praskovia Ivanovna (d. 1731), daughter of Tsar Ivan V Aleksevicha * Princess Evdokia Ivanovna (d. 1558), daughter of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible * Princess Anastasia Yu (d. 1422), wife of Prince Yury Dmitrievich * Princess Euphrosyne Polievktovna (d. 1466), wife of Prince Peter Dmitrievich * Princess Elena Stefanovna (d. 1505), wife of the son of Grand Prince Ivan III, Duke. Ivan Mlado * Princess Elena Romanova (d. 1483), wife of Prince Andrei Vasilievich Grand The destruction of the monastery Ascension Monastery was severely damaged during the battle for the Kremlin in November 1917: shells destroyed walls and domes of its churches. In March 1918 the Bolshevik government moved to Moscow and was located in the Kremlin. The monastery was closed in October 1918 and the nuns were ordered to leave the monastery: the last of its nuns with mother Superior found a temporary shelter at a church in Lefortovo hospital. They managed to remove secretly the reliquary and icon of "Our Lady of Kazan", one of the most venerated icons of Russian ortodoxy as well as other icons and jewelry and to hide them in the courtyard of the Kremlin. However the Bolsheviks searched the belongings and conificated the valuables. Two months later (in December 1918) the "Commission on the confiscation of church valuables" decided that the miraculous icon Virgin Hodegetria (painted in 1482 by Dionysius) was kept in the Patriarch's Palace. In was afterwards transferred to the State Historical Museum, and in 1930 to the State Tretyakov Gallery. In April 1929, at the initiative of the Kremlin commander R.A. Peterson, a government commission, which included: Kliment Voroshilov (1881-1969), V. B. Schmitt , Avel Enukidze (1877-1937), inspected the buildings of the monastery decided to demolish them, clearing the way for the construction of the Military School of the Central Executive Committee of the Communist Party. The transfer of the remains of persons interred in the monastery's church was to be carried of before the destruction of the Voznesensky Monastery. Anticipating this decision Nikolay Pomerantsev (1891-1986), who headed a commission composed of D.N. Sukhov, V.K. Klein, A.V. Oreshnikov, V.N. Ivanov, and other experts made an inventory of the monastery tombs and promptly organized the architectural measurements, photographic images of monastic buildings, a survey of burial grounds of the tsarinas and grand duchesses. They also organized the removal of white stone sarcophagus containing the remains and their transfer to the underground chamber of the southern extension of the Cathedral of the Archangel, where are still kept. An exception was made for the relics of St. Euphrosyne of Moscow, which have been moved on May 28, 2008 to the chapel of Saint Varus in he Cathedral of the Archangel Состоялось перенесение мощей святой благоверной княгини Евфросинии Московской в придел мученика Уара Архангельского собора Московского Кремля На официальном сайте МП 28 мая 2008 г.. It is claimed that when the coffin of Martha Sobakina Славянская энциклопедия. Киевская Русь, the third wife of Ivan the Terrible was opened, the tsarina's body was well preserved. Researchers concluded that she was poisoned, and poison contributed so well-preserved remains. However, as soon as it entered in contact with air the body crumbled into dust 4 , so that investigation of this assumption was possible.Вознесенский женский монастырь в Кремле To preserve ancient icons and the iconostasis as, during the bolshevik revolution they were in danger of being destroyed, N.N. Pomerantsev was able to place them in the Church of the Twelve Apostles of the Moscow Kremlin. As this church was small and could not hold all the icons, part of the altar - two of his series with six icons (three - Holiday series and three - the Passion series) were placed by Pomerantsev in the museum. In the same was demolished by explosion. Experts argue that it was the first time that dynamite was used for the destruction of churches. The destruction of the church also implied the demolition of the last of the buildings designed by Carlo Rossi (1775-1849) in Moscow. At the site of the monastery in 1932-1934. Architect [[Ivan Rerberg (1869-1932) constructed the building of the Military School of the Central Executive Committee. References * Вознесенский женский монастырь в Кремле External links * Account of the convent (from the Moscow Kremlin Museums website) * Account of the cathedral (from the Moscow Kremlin Museums website) Category:Voznesensky Monastery Category:Monasteries in Moscow Category:Russian Orthodox monasteries Category:Former places of worship Category:Established in 1389 Category:Disestablished in 1929 Category:Moscow Kremlin Category:Eastern Orthodox church buildings